Willow miss Mark Seed at Rumney Seedlings - he's 24 carrot gold!

We arrived at Rumney Seedlings promptly at 6pm just as the community party was finishing. We've been running to the project for nearly two years and this was the final handover to the local community. Henceforth, local residents will look after the pollinator beds and the veg patches. The community had spent a lovely hour or so marking the occasion with lots of happy children (with very shiny new school shoes) and mums and dads! The community were particularly proud of the slightly unusual shaped carrots that had been grown!

On arrival, we were given five star treatment and welcomed with the offer of squash from the children attending the party - three varieties no less! Once rehydrated, we turned our attention to the task. Mark knows us well and in typical style had organised a list of things to do.

Marie, Emma, Ellen, Lucy and Ben started with painting the planters in some bright purple and green colours - great job guys - we certainly left it looking bright for the local community. Nathan, Emma and Aimee turned their attention to planting a baby willow tree. At the first attempt, Nathan dug a hole and hit concrete. Having re-assessed the situation, we refilled the hole and dug another instead - we'd found the willow a nice home! Aimee watered the plant in and we left it to settle in.

One more task for us - clear up after the party. Paint brushes were washed, grills were cleaned, washing up returned to the kitchen, tables folded away and rubbish sorted into recyclables and non recyclables. The place was looking spick and span in no time!

We caught up with Mark who has done a terrific job running the project. Mark has been a source of inspiration wanting to do the right thing for the community and get local people involved in growing things. Having seen how passionate the community were about continuing the work, we're sure it will continue to grow in the coming years. Well done Mark - we've loved helping out at the project and were touched that we've been able to support it. We wish you well in your next endeavour.

Just one more thing to do - of course - the group photo! The beautiful sunflowers had caught our eye and it seemed fitting to have our picture taken in amongst the blooms. It was time to end our task but we wish everyone well with the future running of the garden.